Monthly Archives: April 2014

Three Gulf students and a fourth girl who was married to the photographer posed for a photo on the Main Street bridge around 1948. The photo was made into a post card that was widely sold around town. On April 25, 2014, four Gulf seniors re-created the photo by posing on the bridge, sitting or standing in the same poses as the students did in the original photo.

Both pictures show the Pithlachascotee River looking north from the bridge. Much has changed in about 66 years. For one thing, the bridge in the original photo was replaced with a new bridge in the 1960s.

The four girls in the original photo are Eva Lee Dudgeon (GHS ’47), Lily Belle Calais (GHS ’48), Beatrice Falany (GHS ’48), and Viola Lagerberg. Mrs. Lagerberg did not attend Gulf High School; she was the wife of professional photographer Ted Lagerberg, who took the original photo. The exact date of the original photo is not known. An original post card was postmarked in 1949. Lily Belle Calais (Perraud), the only person in the photo who is still living, left New Port Richey in 1950. However, she has attended numerous Gulf High reunions and stays in contact with alumni from her period.

The four girls in the modern photo, all seniors at Gulf High, are Madison Morlan, Nicole (Nikki) Sedivy, Rachel Gardner, and Lauren Lopez. The two students who arranged the scene and took the photos are Tanner Abbott and Domenic Crisafulli, also both seniors.

Dr. J. Michael Francis (left) was the speaker at the West Pasco Historical Society on April 19, 2014. His presentation was about Spanish Florida in the 16th century, which is his specialization. Lot of information about Ponce de Leon and St. Augustine. With Dr. Francis is Bob Hubach, outgoing president of the WPHS. David Prace, past president of the WPHS, said that on a scale of 1-10 his presentation was an 11.

Paul and Laurel Hudson were visitors to the museum on April 5, 2014. They donated this painting, which shows the home of Isaac and Amanda Hudson, for whom Hudson is named. The couple is sitting on the porch. There are fish nets on the left and bee hives on the right. The home was rebuilt in 1945 by Hershel Hudson, son of Alfred Leander Hudson, who is the boy feeding the chickens. The painting is relatively modern, by Patricia Newman, but it is based on an old photograph from perhaps the late 1870s.